[Author's Note: I neither own nor work on Steven Universe, so if I get any details wrong about the show's internal rules or backstory, either those already revealed or those revealed after this story is published, I apologize.]

Steven was on the beach, making drip castles. He scooped a handful of seawater and sand and then let the slurry drip from his fist, creating tiny structures that resembled the spires of a building, in a process similar to how stalagmites are formed. He was so invested in this that he didn't notice Jamie the mailman approaching him from behind.

"Hey, Steven!" Jamie called. His greeting startled Steven and made him let go of his current fistful, squashing his towers and ruining his progress.

"Aw," Steven said, surveying the now-flattened mound of sand. He turned around. "Oh! Hi, Jamie!" he cried brightly, as if that tragedy, slight as it was, had never occurred. "You got a letter for me?"

"Not exactly," Jamie replied, pulling it out of his bag. "It's the same address as you, but it's actually for one of the ladies that live with you."

"Really?" said Steven. "But they never get letters. The last time was when you gave that love letter to Garnet."

"Right," said Jamie, giving an embarrassed chuckle at the memory. "But I assure you, this one isn't from me. And it's not for Garnet, either. And I'm fairly sure it's not a love letter."

"Well, give it here," said Steven. "I can take it to the beach house for you."

Jamie hesitated. "Well…"

"What? Oh," Steven said, glancing at his wet and sand-coated hands. He quickly wiped them on his shirt. "There, that should be good enough to not mess up the letter. I mean, it's in an envelope, so that will protect it."

"I guess," said Jamie, handing the letter over. "But be careful; I think it's important."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, it's from the mayor."

"Really?" Steven glanced at the return address and saw that, indeed, it was that of the mayor's office; it was also printed directly onto the envelope rather than written in, giving it a look of being official and custom-ordered. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed. "I've got to get this to the Gems right away!" He ran off, trampling over what was left over of his drip castle without a care.

Steven slammed the door to the beach house open. "Hey, guys!" He glanced about the room. Wires and bits of green metal were strewn about. Pearl and Garnet were picking them up while Amethyst lounged off to the side. "What is all this?"

"Oh! Steven!" said Pearl. "Sorry about the mess. We'll have your room cleaned up shortly."

"Well, you'll have the room cleaned up shortly," said Amethyst. "I'm mostly just watching."

"What were you guys doing?" Steven asked.

"We spent the whole morning reverse engineering some of the Homeworld technology from Peridot's escape shuttle," Pearl explained.

"Well, you did the reverse engineering," said Amethyst. "I mostly just watched."

"Yes, we get it, Amethyst," Pearl grumbled. "Anyway, we were trying to see if any of it could help us track her down. It doesn't seem like they can, but we did manage to cobble together these." She held up a pair of objects that resembled green remote controls. "We'll be able to communicate with each other when separated without any of the problems similar Earth technologies have."

"Neat!" said Steven. He then remembered what his purpose for coming inside was in the first place. "Oh! We got a letter from the mayor!"

"Really?" asked Amethyst. "What's it about?"

"I don't know, it wasn't addressed to me." He glanced down at the envelope. "It's actually addressed to Pearl."

"What? Why me? Why not all of us?"

"Maybe he thinks you're the leader?" Steven suggested with a shrug.

"Me?"

"It's possible," said Garnet. "While in practice I'm the one who provides us with our mission objectives and develops the chief amount of strategies in combat, my stoic nature is associated in the human consciousness with the second-in-command, competent but uncreative; Amethyst, meanwhile, is obviously immature. You, however, project an air of intelligence and confidence, traits more often found in popular depictions of leadership roles."

"Really?" smiled Pearl, blushing slightly at the suggestion that she had leader-like qualities.

"Or maybe you have the only name he can remember," said Amethyst.

"Well, let's see what it has to say," said Pearl. She took the letter from Steven, opened it, and read aloud:

"From the desk of Mayor Bill Dewey. To: Pearl [Unknown Surname]. This letter is to extend an invitation to you for a two-person dinner and conversation with the sender, Mayor Bill Dewey, for next Saturday the ninth at 6:15, or else a date and time amiable to you, dependent on our individual schedules. Please RSVP. Signed, Mayor Bill Dewey."

"Wow, Pearl," said Steven. "I think the mayor's asking you out…on a date!"

"Well, that ain't happening," said Amethyst.

"Nope," said Pearl.

"I think you should go," said Garnet.

The others all stared at her in disbelief. Steven was particularly shocked, considering how she had reacted when someone had offered to date her. Then again, she was a fusion while Pearl was not, so that may have accounted for her differing attitude in this situation; yet the reasons she had given to Jamie, about them not being in love because they didn't know each other, applied to Dewey and Pearl as well. Although Steven trusted her judgment, it often proved inscrutable.

The other Gems, though they had not been present for the Jamie incident, were evidently thinking the same thing.

"You cannot be serious," Pearl said after a second.

"Yes I can. I think you should go."

"On a date with Mayor Dewey?" Pearl made a sort of gagging sound. "Sorry, but I have absolutely no interest in pursuing a relationship with him or any other human."

"Then don't approach it as if it's meant to be a starting point for a possible relationship. Approach it as if it's a meeting between a guardian of the Earth from magical threats and the elected official of the city that is threatened the most. After all, the invitation is written in such a way that it is not necessarily intended to be romantic in nature."

"But you know it is."

"Indisputably."

"Even disregarding the possibility of romance, I wouldn't want to go anyway! I mean, dinner? I hate eating! And with him? I know nothing about him!"

"That's one of the reasons I think you should go," said Garnet. "Get to know him a little better, and have him get to know you a little better as well."

"Yeah, maybe he won't want to date you anymore once he gets to know you!" joked Amethyst.

"Exactly," said Garnet.

"Wait, that's really you're reasoning?" said Amethyst. "I was just making fun of Pearl."

"I assume the mayor believes that Pearl would be a suitable companion for him but is not entirely sure. His letter mentions conversation, after all. That means that although he doesn't know you, he is at least making an effort to do so. I can respect that."

"That's all fine," said Pearl crossly, "but why can't I just write back and say that, no, I most certainly would not be a suitable companion for him?"

"In most cases, I'd think that'd be acceptable. However, there are other reasons I think you should go. It'd be worthless to reveal them until after you've been on the date, however."

"What does that mean?" demanded Pearl. "Wait, did you spy on my possibility of a date with your future vision?

"No. It was pure intuition."

"So, you want me to do this thing that I don't want to do for reasons you can't tell me until after I've done it?"

"Pretty much."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Great."

"I think you should go for it, Pearl!" exclaimed Amethyst.

"You just want to annoy me by proxy!" Pearl snapped.

"Eh, you know me too well."

"I must admit that Pearl's annoyance is a distinct likelihood," said Garnet, "but despite that, my opinion remains unchanged. There are worse things than being forced to spend time with somebody."

"Maybe so, but it would help if I knew why I was being forced to spend time with them."

Garnet shrugged. "The gist of it is that I think it'd be good for you to get out and meet some new people."

"What? Why?"

"Because it'd be good for you."

"I think I see what she's saying," said Steven. "I mean, Amethyst's reconnected with her old friend Vidalia and that's been working out pretty well for her."

"I can talk to her about things I can't with any of you guys," said Amethyst.

"Well, what about you?" said Pearl to Garnet. "I don't see you going out and trying to meet new people."

"I don't need to."

Pearl was about to make a retort to this statement, but then she felt a hand gently land on her arm. Looking down, she saw that it belonged to Steven, who was gazing up at her with big, pleading eyes.

"Pearl," he said, "I've spent time with the mayor before. He's not perfect, but he's a nice enough guy. You don't have to date him, but you should at least let him down gently. Take him up on this offer, explain to him why you don't want a relationship with him, and you don't have to do it again. Besides, maybe Garnet's right; maybe this would be good for you. And even if it's not, what harm could it possibly be to try?"

Pearl let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll go," she said. "But I'm not going to enjoy it."

"Yeah, probably not," said Garnet.